First I should state that I disagree with anonymous review for the same reasons that I disagree with an unaccountable judiciary—the negative effects on responsibility.
However, there are several problems with the theory in this essay—the most important being that the editors know who the writer or researcher is and can decide to go ahead and publish on that score no matter what the reviewers say. The editors have a strong incentive to advance novel but true theories in that it will advance the reputation of the journal.
If reviewers anonymity is abolished, how many would dare to submit a negative review, knowing that eventually their own work might be refereed by the author?
This is a bit off-topic so I’m not going into any detail here, but you might check out this book by Max Boot, “Out of Order: Arrogance, Corruption, & Incompetence on the Bench”, a large proportion of the problems he wrote about arose from judges not being personally responible for their actions on the bench.
Also, more generally, I am a libertarian largely because I believe that everyone is totally and completely responsible for their own actions. Even if someone is holding a gun to your head, you decide what you do in response (and are responsible for letting yourself get in that position). Or if you are drunk or drugged, you are responsible for putting yourself in that position and therefore for what you do while that way.
I mean that people should bear some part of the forseeable costs of their actions.
I say “some part” because the actions of others also influence costs, and stress “foreseeable” because in any complex system things interact to such an extent that only very direct results can actually be attributed reliably to any one party.
Most attributions of “fault” in complex systems is scapegoating or motivated by interpersonal status games.
I don’t understand your objection to anonymous review on the basis of accountability. Doesn’t “anonymous review” in this context just mean that the reviewers don’t know the authors and affiliations of the papers they’re reviewing? In that case, what is there to be accountable for? The reviewers themselves aren’t any more anonymous in “anonymous review” than in standard review, are they?
Maybe I was wrong about that, but I also understood it to mean that the reviewer was also unknown to the author, even after the review. I have heard several stories (can’t remember the sources; possibly only urban-scientific legends) of reviewers giving poor reviews of work that could have pre-empted things they were currently working on. And similar self-serving tactics.
First I should state that I disagree with anonymous review for the same reasons that I disagree with an unaccountable judiciary—the negative effects on responsibility.
However, there are several problems with the theory in this essay—the most important being that the editors know who the writer or researcher is and can decide to go ahead and publish on that score no matter what the reviewers say. The editors have a strong incentive to advance novel but true theories in that it will advance the reputation of the journal.
If reviewers anonymity is abolished, how many would dare to submit a negative review, knowing that eventually their own work might be refereed by the author?
Can you clarify your disagreement with the doctrine of an unaccountable judiciary?
This is a bit off-topic so I’m not going into any detail here, but you might check out this book by Max Boot, “Out of Order: Arrogance, Corruption, & Incompetence on the Bench”, a large proportion of the problems he wrote about arose from judges not being personally responible for their actions on the bench.
Also, more generally, I am a libertarian largely because I believe that everyone is totally and completely responsible for their own actions. Even if someone is holding a gun to your head, you decide what you do in response (and are responsible for letting yourself get in that position). Or if you are drunk or drugged, you are responsible for putting yourself in that position and therefore for what you do while that way.
Could you explain in what sense you mean “personally responsible?”
I mean that people should bear some part of the forseeable costs of their actions. I say “some part” because the actions of others also influence costs, and stress “foreseeable” because in any complex system things interact to such an extent that only very direct results can actually be attributed reliably to any one party. Most attributions of “fault” in complex systems is scapegoating or motivated by interpersonal status games.
I don’t understand your objection to anonymous review on the basis of accountability. Doesn’t “anonymous review” in this context just mean that the reviewers don’t know the authors and affiliations of the papers they’re reviewing? In that case, what is there to be accountable for? The reviewers themselves aren’t any more anonymous in “anonymous review” than in standard review, are they?
In this context, yes, that’s the only thing it means.
Maybe I was wrong about that, but I also understood it to mean that the reviewer was also unknown to the author, even after the review. I have heard several stories (can’t remember the sources; possibly only urban-scientific legends) of reviewers giving poor reviews of work that could have pre-empted things they were currently working on. And similar self-serving tactics.